How Outsourcing SMS-Based Customer Service Boosts Response Times and Retention

In an increasingly competitive world, it is essential to retain your customers as much as it is to acquire them. Customers are likely to disengage from your brand for various reasons, including a bad experience, irrelevant offerings, or poor customer service. After all, other companies are striving hard to win the competition by constantly vying for customers’ attention. 

Do you think it is possible to win back those customers? The short answer is yes, it is possible through short message services (SMS), which act as an excellent solution for reengaging your inactive and former customers. This article helps you better understand the basics of customer retention using a business SMS solution. 

What is Customer Retention and Why Is It Important?

Customer retention is said to be the ability to retain existing customers in terms of business ability by encouraging them to continue purchasing products and services over time. This includes turning your first customer into a loyal customer which might be crucial for generating ongoing revenues. An effective customer retention strategy focuses on building loyal customers by fulfilling their needs with long-lasting relationships.

Customer retention plays a vital part in business success. Keeping existing customers active and engaged is more cost-effective than constantly acquiring new customers, as they have higher lifetime value. The marketing and outreach efforts involved in acquiring new customers cost five times more than reengaging the existing customers. 

Do SMS Campaigns work for Lost Customers?

SMS is a fast, accessible and incredibly user-friendly. Here are some of the biggest advantages of SMS campaigns for customer retention that includes:

• Convenience – As everyone is likely to carry a phone wherever they go, texting is a convenient and easy marketing tool to send and receive messages.

• High Open rate – The known fact is that texting has a higher open rate of 98% which is much higher than email and other forms of engagement. When your contacts open the message, that means there is a better chance that they will take action. It may sound simple but high open rates can become repeat customers and increase sales.

• Efficiency – You can automate your SMS solutions to send messages at predetermined times or in response to specific customer behaviours, which allows your team to send more messages than you would if you draft each message individually.  

• Direct Delivery – Text messages are directly sent to the customer’s phone, making it easy to view, whereas emails are likely redirected to deliver into spam folders 
• Interactivity – Two-way texting solutions empower your customers to send messages keeping it interactive and also boosting engagement and improving customer service.

Designing a Successful Win Back SMS Campaign:

While investing in outsource SMS-based customer service can be the first step, you need a strong plan to win over people. Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to create an sms outsourcing campaign that will bring back your lost customers. 

1. Personalize Your Messaging:
   Customers always want to be valued, where human connection is critical for customer retention and acquisition and it is hard to see why. Keeping your messages personalized helps you speak directly with your customers and helps regain interest in your brand.
2. Keep it on Point:
   As a general rule of thumb, try to keep your message within 160 characters. Don’t exceed beyond that. So keep your message short and crisp within the word limit. While you pack all your information into the outsource sms support, it’s best to limit message length for maximum engagement. 
3. Prioritize Timely Messages:
   Timely messages and services have a great impact on your customers. When customers are already swamped with hectic work schedules or a busy routine, they don’t show interest, interrupted by a message even if they receive an offer for a major discount at a favorite store. Schedule messages early to deliver them, not during the peak hours so that they show full interest and engage with it.
4. Use Behavioral Triggers:
   Timing and personalization act as key aspects in customer retention, but manually drafting each and every message can be time-consuming. Setting behavioral conditions helps you save time, as there will be no need to draft messages on your own. This eventually reduces overhead costs. This also ensures that outsourced sms services reach out to your consumers on time by grabbing their attention. Make a preset of Behavior, Time and Promo for automatic delivery of sms outsourcing at the right time.
5. Ask for Feedback:
   Always ask for feedback from your customers to keep things on track. Create a short, streamlined survey of customer feedback by sharing a link inviting customers to engage. This helps you in understanding where your business lacks and in which customers get disengaged and go off track. This feels like your customers are valued and it explains where your business is falling short of expectations.
6. Integrate With Other Channels:
   Integrate with other channels as a seamless information flow across various channels in your organization is essential for maximizing your business marketing and customer retention strategy. Your outsource sms support services become effective when combined with the rest of your tech teams, which include social media platforms, customer relationship management solutions and shipment tracking software. These integrations help you with a single source of truth across platforms by improving data quality and targeting accuracy.
7. Monitor and Optimize SMS Campaigns:
   A frequent tracking of performance metrics during sms outsourcing helps you adapt to better reach your audience and boost your engagement rates. Some key metrics to monitor include open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and net promoter score.  

Key Benefits of SMS for Retaining Customers:

Every business is likely to have good email support services or other sources for a customer retention strategy, but that is not where your marketing efforts should end. Use SMS marketing for an all-encompassing, comprehensive retention strategy that meets customer expectations. Though reaching your customers through email and other sources can be effective, here are a few key takeaways that texting stands out:

1. Higher Engagement:
   

   The known fact is that texting has a higher open rate of 98% which is much higher than email and other forms of engagement. When your contacts open the message, that means there is a better chance that they will take action. It may sound simple but high open rates can become repeat customers and increase sales.

2. Immediate and Convenient:

   Consumers wish for the convenience of communication that serves their busy lives better. Most of the surveys state that consumers find it comfortable to view texting as a more convenient, faster and efficient way for businesses to reach them. The convenience and immediacy not only act as a benefit for customers, but also SMS support services are a key aspect that helps businesses gain customer insights and feedback instantly to align with customer retention strategies.
   

3. Customer Service in Real Time:

   Create a real-time customer experience with your consumers, where texting allows companies to interact directly and instantly and vice versa. And with customers more likely to stick with a brand that offers smooth customer service this real-time engagement can be the way to your consumers’ hearts. 
   

   The Bottom Line:
   

   By leveraging SMS as a powerful tool for customer engagement and retention, your business can create a long-lasting relationship with your customers. An effective change from first purchase to loyal customers does happen over time. From personalized messages and tailored workflows to real-time consumers and insightful analytics, the right SMS strategy can turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.   

When you are ready to take a step in the right direction through text marketing strategy, do contact our support team from AtiDiv for guidance and support to set things on the right track.

FAQs on SMS Based Customer Service:

1. Can small businesses incorporate SMS for customer support?
   

   Definitely, yes. SMS is a cost-effective and easy way to implement. They are scalable too, which makes it ideal for businesses of all sizes to provide professional and timely customer support.

2. What kind of messages can be sent through SMS customer support?
   

   Messages such as order confirmation, appointment confirmation, payment links, shopping updates, payment reminders, feedback surveys and many more that are related to real-time.

3. Is it possible to customize the messages for each customer?
   

   Absolutely, yes. It is possible to customize messages for each customer with their name and details that are relevant to their needs and preferences. Creating personalized and customized messages helps connect more personally with your customers, which enhances loyalty.

4. What is the best frequency for sending SMS to retain your customers?
   

   The best frequency considered for sending personalized messages to retain your customers is once or twice a week. Test this frequency with your customers and adjust as needed based on their preferences.

5. How do I personalize SMS messages for different customer segments?
   

   Yes, you can personalize your SMS message according to customer preferences by drafting messages that are relevant to their segments, such as sending content based on where that customer group is in their journey with your brand.